This rare piece of 1930s Brooklyn Jewish history features a dual-purpose production history. The item began as an imported European art postcard displaying Domenico Mastroianni’s sculptochrome image of Adam and Eve (with original pre-1918 Russian and English captions). It was then repurposed in Brooklyn as a promotional handbill for the historic Hopkinson Theatre (Corner of Pitkin Ave & Hopkinson Ave, Brownsville, Brooklyn).

This overprint illustrates the resourcefulness of Great Depression-era theater management and local job-printers, who purchased unmailed European cardstock in bulk to run through local letterpresses for neighborhood distribution.

The Yiddish overprint advertises:

• Venue: Hopkinson Theatre, Brooklyn (Tel. Dickens 2-3014)

• Starring: David Medoff, popular Yiddish radio artist and tenor, as Sasha the Singing Forester.

• Production: Natalka Poltavka (3-Act Operetta by Ivan Kotlyarevsky, performed in Yiddish).

• Performance Details: One-night-only performance on Monday, June 3rd (Circa 1935).

• Typography & Markings: Sharp two-color letterpress printing in bold red ink featuring the original Allied Printing Trades Council union bug (208 PRINTED IN U.S.A.).

Item Details & Specifications

• Origin: Brooklyn, New York, USA (Printed on imported European stock).

• Age/Circa: Circa 1935.

• Materials: Cardstock paper, letterpress ink.

• Dimensions: Standard vintage postcard (~3.5" x 5.5").

• Condition: Very good vintage condition. Sharp red printing, light corner wear, slight surface aging/toning, and minor isolated spot oxidation consistent with age. Unmailed and clean back.

Authenticity Assessment: This piece exhibits clear markers of genuine 1930s ephemera. The front artwork uses an early photomechanical half-tone dot matrix typical of Domenico Mastroianni’s published works. The Yiddish text on the reverse was applied via genuine letterpress overprinting, showing slight debossing impressions into the cardstock. The Allied Printing Trades Council union bug in the lower-left corner (208 PRINTED IN U.S.A.) firmly establishes its authentic Brooklyn manufacture during the mid-1930s.

Reference

• Book Title: Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre), Vol. 2

• Author: Zalmen Zylbercweig

• Page: 1307 (Details David Medoff's stage career, radio popularity, and prominent Yiddish theater engagements across New York City).

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